Sudanese community in Minnesota fighting for loved ones caught in conflict
In a little over two weeks, the conflict in Sudan between rival generals from the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed more than 500 people.
Sudanese Minnesotan Mohamed Yousif said there are millions more fearing for their lives in the Northeast African country of around 46 million people.
“That’s how many stories there are right now,” Yousif said as he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other members of the Sudanese diaspora at the Columbia Heights headquarters for American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa, or ARAHA.
“People just like me, who don't have the expertise, are putting their time and effort into coordinating the evacuation of all these people because there is no help,” Yousif said.
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Yousif is most worried for his grandmother, who he said is too old to flee her home. Other members of his family paid thousands to flee to neighboring Egypt. Yousif said that option is reserved for those who have the most resources. Among those unable to flee, Yousif said, was a family he knows that experienced a stray missile hitting their home.
“Now they have to bury their three children.”
In addition to the immediate danger of the conflict zone, ARAHA executive director Mohamed Idris said his organization and other reputable organizations are relying on social media and donations to try to coordinate aid in a rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan. Millions of people have lost access to food, water and any way to communicate electronically.
"Acute shortage of food, water, medicine and fuel and limited access to communication and electricity have left civilians vulnerable,” he said.
The U.S. State Department and allies have helped evacuate 1,000 U.S. citizens, joining several other countries that have closed their embassies and evacuated their staff and families.
Yousif said he hopes that while world leaders consider what to do about the power struggles among the country’s leaders, civilians across the world will unite to help the people of Sudan in any way they can.